Here are some pictures of Maple Ave, via Martha T:
One of the best things about being part of the neighborhood association is finding out cool traditions that different pockets of Dean Highland have. I didn’t know, for example, just how wild and crazy Maple Avenue got on Halloween, but apparently it’s one of the best places go trick-or-treating in all of Waco.
If you want to share your Halloween photos with your fellow Dean Highlanders, shoot them to us at deanhighlandwaco@gmail.com and we’ll post ’em here in the newsletter!
We had a blast at Zion Hill Baptist Church’s “Fall-O-Ween Jesus” fall festival this past Saturday (Oct. 31st). Check out DHNA’s President Scott Michael playing musical chairs:
The frito pies were to die for (I now know the secret ingredient to world-class chili). My kids came home with water guns, candy, Dr Pepper, and — get this!- live goldfish. They ate a boatload of freshly-baked homemade cookies too.
There was face-painting, fellowship, cornhole, a bounce house, music, and thoughts and ideas about how to find creative ways to build community, and create safe places for kids, in the Dean Highland neighborhood.
As you’ve seen, President Scott was there, and so too was DHNA’s Secretary, Austin Wright. The Strietzels of Maple Ave (you remember them?) graced us with their presence, and the good folks at Zion Hill — which has been in our neighborhood since the early 1970s – made sure to take great care of us. Hopefully we’ll be collaborating again soon! Here’s some more fun:
Check out Zion Hill’s Facebook page. This is a wonderful church that is truly a community within a community here in Dean Highland, and we’re lucky to have them. Here’s Zion Hill on a map:
Many thanks to Zion Hill Baptist Church for being such gracious hosts!
Our neighbors at Zion Hill Baptist Church are throwing a Fall Festival in their parking lot this Saturday, and the whole neighborhood is invited:
The Dean Highland Neighborhood Association will have a table there. We’ll be handing out candy. If you’d like to make donations to the candy stash, shoot us an email and we’ll hash out the details. Or just go here and give online (there should be a spot for you to explain what you’d like us to do with your gift).
To recap, if you want to bring the whole family and party, you’re welcome to do so. If you just want to chill at the DHNA table and hand out candy, you’re more than welcome to do that, too. Here’s Zion Hill Baptist Church on a map:
Saturday, October 31st, from 11am to 2pm. Bounce Houses. Food. DJs. Games. Prizes. Catch you there!
I was not disappointed! Dean Highlanders came through! When I cruised back over to the triangle earlier today, there was a big, black, beautiful bag of trash for me to collect and place at our usual dropping off site at Mitchell Park:
So, to whoever showed up and helped clean the neighborhood and pave the way for Hillcrest Park: thank you! You restored my hope in doing things the hard way. Our next conservancy initiative service project will be on November 14th (a Saturday). I’ll wait around for more than 15-20 minutes next time! I’m thinking we hit the alleyway between Windsor and Live Oak from 30th to 26th, but I’m open to suggestions…
I know I’ve mentioned this before, but don’t forget about the Children’s Garden Fair happening this Sunday (October 25), from 2pm to 4pm, at the Earle-Harrison House & Pape Gardens.
Many of you could slay two birds with one stone by snagging some selfies in front of our new State Historical Marker and submitting them to us via email for our “State Historical Marker Challenge“…
Catch you at 10am tomorrow morning. Bring a neighbor!
Um, the neighborhood association board is currently short 3 members. It’s been short 2 members since the beginning of the year, and we lost a 3rd member last month.
Tinker Kramer, Chelsea Kramer-Noonan, and Jessica Ford have given so much time and effort to Dean Highland via the neighborhood association over the past 6 years (at least!) that words would simply fail to describe the impact they’ve had on all of us. They’ll still get glowing profiles in these pages, eventually, but for now I just want everybody who tunes in to our newsletters to know that these three ladies are AWESOME!
If you want to serve, if you have a heart for advocacy, and you like to fellowship, please consider approaching us about becoming a member of the board. Shoot us an email.
2027 is just around the corner, so if you’re looking for a new challenge with a good cause, look no further!
One of our own, Melinda Leazar (Herring Ave.), brought up this amazing fair at our last quarterly meeting. I am so glad that she took the time to stand up and introduce her neighbors to one of her passions. This is what our quarterly meetings are for, and it was heartening to see so many Dean Highlanders take advantage of this last month. Hopefully, at our next quarterly meeting, more of you will follow Melinda’s (and Valerie’s) example.
Check out the information for the fair:
Bring the kids for an afternoon of outdoor fun and discovery at beautiful Pape Gardens! Hosted by the McLennan County Master Gardeners in cooperation with Historic Waco, this FREE family event features more than 10 hands-on activity stations where children can explore gardening and nature in Central Texas through scavenger hunts, creative crafts, interactive learning activities, and fun projects to take home.
This year, families can also step inside the historic kitchen at the Johnson-Taylor House and explore activities in the new kitchen garden, where Master Gardeners will help bring the connection between gardens, food, and everyday life to life.
Sunday, October 25 | 2–4 p.m. Pape Gardens, 1901 N. 5th St., Waco
Children of all ages are welcome and must be accompanied by an adult. Weather permitting.
~Scavenger Hunt ~Fun Crafts ~Learning Stations
*Children MUST be accompanied by an adult.
Educational programs of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service are open …
Thank you, Melinda, for sharing with us your passions. By the way, Melinda has, unsurprisingly, already participated (along with her husband, Mark) in the “Voices from Dean Highland” oral history project. You know what to do!
We need help with the holiday party planning committee this year. We need some of y’all to step up, roll up your sleeves, and help us do the difficult work of throwing the best neighborhood holiday bash in Waco. Again.
To give you an idea of how desperate we are for help: I am thinking about joining the committee, and I couldn’t throw a party if you gave me a keg and a DJ.
Please, we ask only for a little bit of your time and effort for the next few months. It’ll all be over by the second Saturday in December. Shoot us an email at deanhighlandwaco@gmail.com to sign up and pitch in.
Since early this year there has been a flurryofreports on the plan for the empty lots where Hillcrest hospital once stood. To piggyback off those reports and to build organizational capacity, the Dean Highland Neighborhood Association launched the Dean Highland Conservancy Initiative. This initiative is one-of-a-kind in Waco, and while it’s mostly aimed at cleaning alleyways, streets, empty lots, and pocket parks, we have also utilized the conservancy initiative to help clean up trash in the yards of Dean Highland’s single mothers and, just this past Saturday, to help a local Dean Highland celebrity — Ms. Alice, the Christmas lights lady – get her decorations out of storage and prepped for setup.
The idea was so cool (thanks to Rick, our DHNA Treasurer, for thinking it up) that the Waco Tribune-Herald picked up the story. Read the whole thing here. Here’s a picture of Saturday’s October 10th crew courtesy of the one-and-only Tinker Kramer:
DHNA’s President, Scott Michael (holding Goofy), led the charge along with Robert, Skip, and Tinker.
What a great neighborhood!
Our next neighborhood cleanup will be October 24th (a Saturday). Mark your calendars, and submit a spot in the neighborhood that you think needs some tender lovin’ care.
